Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Play the Advertising Home Game

It has been said that the average American is
bombarded by more than 2,000 advertising messages each day. Television advertising,
in particular, struggles to break-through the clutter.

The Super Bowl has become an annual showcase of advertising. Today’s media-savvy consumers pay attention to advertising that is interesting and relevant to them. As a marketing
manager, you might enjoy playing The Advertising Home Game. The game is played
with any number of viewers. It requires only an audience willing to forego
trips to fridge during commercial breaks.

Here’s how it works. Kick back in
front of the tube. Schedule viewing of your favorite TV show, sporting event,
the evening news or favorite soap opera. As each commercial is shown evaluate, quickly:
What it’s about? Is it relevant? Is it persuasive? Is it interesting? What was
the brand? What was the message or key point? (No fair paying it back. In this game, the rules require you see the spots as they appear in progaming.) You may find this a difficult
task. Just as you are studying a :30 spot, another comes on to entertain and inform
you about yet a different product. If you are playing this game with others you
may be drawn into conversations that cause you to miss the next commercial.
Save your comments. Takes notes if you wish. Don’t allow yourself the cop-out
of, “This commercial is not for me because I’m not the target.” Maybe you’re
right, but by virtue of your program selection, you are in the audience and among
the viewers. In this environment, you begin to
appreciate how difficult it truly is to communicate. By forcing yourself to sit
through the advertising and try to understand its mission, you suddenly become keenly aware of the challenges you and your
advertising agency face when you set out to develop television advertising, or
any advertising. It’s just a game. But in real life you need to be considerate of
your prospective consumers. Remind yourself to deliver relevant, interesting,
engaging, memorable, messages. The kinds of messages that outscore others in
your home game contain clues to ways that you can be more effective at
communicating with your intended viewers and readers.

The Advertising Home Game
advanced version takes this process one or two steps further with additional
questions. Why in the world did the client agree to that advertising? What was
the creative strategy? Did the client get what the agency presented in
concept form? Is this campaign going to accomplish its goals?